I bought this bag two weeks ago from the Balenciaga US Online Store (SO HAPPY), but no pictures of it yet because I literally took it out of its dust bag to admire and then put it right back in for my mother to help me carry back to Singapore! I’ve been eyeing this bag since the Spring 2011 colors first launched on the US site, naturally because of its lovely pink color – light enough to be girly but not scream bimbo! I wasn’t sure if it was just non-buyers’ regret that I didn’t get the Giant City Rose Gold in Bois de Rose from the Fall 2010 season, which I fell in love with the first time I saw, but a friend bought it so according to some Girls’ Law out there (like the female equivalent of the Bro Code, only this says you can’t buy a scarf in the same color as your friend or a bag they own already) I couldn’t buy it after I’d seen her carrying it. Especially since Balenciaga produces the same styles of bags, just in different colors each season! I was quite crushed, but it’s okay because apparently my friend’s bag (a very light white-pink) has since faded to gray, and you can’t really tell that it used to be pink. That’s what you get with Balenciaga I suppose, as the brand’s leather isn’t known to be the best and the color tends to fade! I think this color will still look gorgeous slightly faded though, and I like gold hardware better than the rose gold.

I went down to Barney’s in Boston too see the bag in person, but they were out of stock and placed one on hold in New York for me. But when I went to NYC that weekend the store had none, even though their computer said that there should still be 4 somewhere! I managed to take a look at the other styles in this color though and knew that I definitely wanted the City in Old Rose, so I placed my order online and had it shipped to Boston. No sales tax 😀 I had it shipped via Complimentary Ground, and although the Balenciaga site has options for Next-Day and 2-Day delivery it still made it to me in 2 days, with the white Balenciaga box inside a nondescript regular brown cardboard box, and with signature confirmation in case anyone else tries to make off with my bag in the mail!

Overall I’m very pleased with the Balenciaga online store and my new bag, and I’ll definitely be getting as much wear out of this bag before next season’s colors come out! This does match most things in my wardrobe (pink) after all..

I’ve started getting into fragrances lately, and I picked up a sampler set of 9 fragrances from Sephora including Dior Addict 2, Versace Bright Crystal, Juicy Couture Viva la Juicy, Dolce & Gabbana Rose The One, Prada Infusion d’Iris and Givenchy Very Irresistible. At first whiff my favourites are definitely Viva la Juicy and D&G’s Rose The One (Prada what happened??), especially since I love floral scents!

The thing about fragrances is that how it smells in the bottle might not be how it will smell like on you. This is due to our individual body chemistry reacting with the perfume, which is also why the same perfume might smell different on different people. Just whiffing the scent in a store also isn’t a good gauge of what the perfume smells like, and ideally you should test a scent out for a whole day so you let it develop fully on your skin. I’ll be testing some of these perfumes out over the next week or so, wearing them for a full day each. Hopefully I’ll be able to give you guys a good idea of what I think about each one!

Givenchy Very Irrésistible Eau de Toilette

Givenchy’s Very Irrésistible is one of the brand’s current bestselling scents. Givenchy says that the scent is:

“An homage to Givenchy’s early days when fashion and cinema were intertwined, Very Irrésistible Givenchy, unites the elegant tradition of French style with the energy and pop-culture pizzazz of American film. Bursting with roses and infused with star anise, and verbena leaf, Very Irrésistible Givenchy is a fresh departure from the traditional floral fragrance.”

Very Irresistible has Peony Rose, Fantasia Rose, Centifolia Rose, Passion Rose, Emotion Rose, Verbena Leaf and Star Anise. Givenchy weren’t kidding when they said this scent was bursting with roses! The top notes are very nice and floraly, and I quite like it. In fact, I could sniff this from the bottle all day. It’s refreshing and sweet but not overly so.

The sweetness fades after about an hour, and the scent goes from sweet floral to a warmer, more sensual floral scent. It smells like the sort of thing you would wear to a sophisticated French dinner party, with a dress that hits your knees. By this point I can see why Givenchy calls this a departure from the traditional floral fragrance, since it’s not just a girly floral. It has a nice full, deep body, and think it would be great as an everyday scent to wear to work.

I asked my boyfriend what he thought of Givenchy’s Very Irresistible, and all he said was “Resistible” ahahaha. If it’s too irresistible for you though, you can pick up a standard sized 1.7oz Eau de Toilette Spray from GivenchyBeauty or Sephora for $67USD.